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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Oman U23 side blanks Kyrgyzstan in Doha

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MUSCAT: The Oman Olympic (under-23) team blanked Kyrgyzstan team 2-0 in a friendly game on Saturday as part of the underway International U23 Friendly Championship in Doha city, Qatar.


Both goals of the ‘Red Warriors’ were netted by substitute Nibras al Maashari in the dying minutes and ahead of the completion of match by five minutes. The triumph meant, Oman will take on Iraq for the fifth and sixth places play-off on Tuesday. The Oman boys suffered a 3-0 loss against South Korea in the opening match on Wednesday.


Oman’s Olympic head coach, Akram Habresh, began the match with slight changes in the playing format and the starting line-up which featured from: Maitham al Ajmi (goalkeeper), Ayman al Nabhani, Mohammed Mukhalaf, Khalid al Ghatrifi and Mulham al Sunaidy in the defence. Ahed al Mushaikhi was in the centre besides Nasser al Rawahi, Abdulhafidh al Mukhaini, Al Faraj al Kiyoumi and Mohammed Abdulhakeem while Salim al Abdulsalam was the lone forward.


In the match, Kyrgyzstan was the better side in the first half. The attacking side of the rivals created several attempts including a goal that was disallowed by the referee due to offside.


In the second half, coach Akram replaced many players and brought new faces to change the result. After many scoring attempts, Nibras al Mashari converted a golden pass from Abdulmajeed al Balushi to the net to put Oman ahead in the game. Few minutes later, Nibras doubled the result by sending a strong shot from outside the box to make it 2-0.


The six-day international friendly tournament is part of the team’s preparation for the U23 Asian Cup qualifiers which will take place in September. The U23 Asian Cup finals, which will be held in Doha, will act as qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics.


Also, the Oman team will will attend in the West Asian Championship which will be held in Iraq in June. Besides these events, the national Olympic team boys will aim from this tourney to prepare and shape their readiness for Asian Games in China which will take place from September 23 to October 8.


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